Philly FOP Slams Hillary Clinton Over Speaker Lineup of DNC

Philadelphia's Fraternal Order of Police criticized Hillary Clinton over the lineup of speakers for the Democratic National Convention. The group says they'd like to hear from the families of police officers who died in the line of duty. NBC10's Brandon Hudson has the details as well as responses from the Clinton campaign and the DNCC. (Published Thursday, July 21, 2016)

Philadelphia’s Fraternal Order of Police slammed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over the lineup for the upcoming Democratic National Convention. The FOP released a statement Wednesday saying they didn’t see any widows or family members of slain police officers on the initial itinerary for planned speakers at the DNC.

“The Fraternal Order of Police is insulted, and will not soon forget, that the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton are excluding the widows, and other family members of Police Officers killed in the line of duty who were victims of explicit, and not implied racism, and 'being on duty in blue,'" a spokesperson for the FOP wrote. “It is sad that to win an election Mrs. Clinton must pander to the interests of people who do not know all the facts, while the men and women they seek to destroy are outside protecting the political institutions of this country. Mrs. Clinton you should be ashamed of yourself if that is possible.”

Officials with the Democratic National Convention Committee told NBC10 former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey as well as Joe Sweeney, a detective with the NYPD who dug through the rubble of the World Trade Center to search for survivors on September 11, 2001, are all scheduled to speak at the convention. The list of scheduled speakers also include the daughter of the principal who was slain while protecting students during the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre as well as two of the three survivors of the mass shooting at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, South Carolina. A spokeswoman for Hillary Clinton also released a statement to NBC10.

"As Hillary Clinton has said, we need to support heroic police officers who put their lives on the line every day as well as listen to the voices of mothers who have lost their children,” the spokeswoman wrote. “We look forward to highlighting the courageous efforts of law enforcement with speakers at our convention, including from Pennsylvania, and praising their work to keep our communities safe.”

Another scheduled speaker is Anton Moore, president of Unity in the Community, an anti-gun violence group in Philly. Moore told NBC10 he hopes the DNC will help fix the disconnect he believes exists between Philadelphia Police and the community.

“Seeing that letter, it doesn’t surprise me,” Moore said. “I think that if we’re going to solve the problem of community policing in Philadelphia, we all need to check our egos at the door and come to the table and be sincere about reform.”